The present invention relates to a machine for mounting parts, more particularly to a machine which can mount various kinds of parts onto desired positions of a work piece.
An operation cycle of the above mentioned kind of machine includes the steps of:
removing a part from a container of parts,
gripping the taken-out part in a mounting head,
adjusting a direction and position of the part in the mounting head,
mounting the adjusted part onto a desired position of a work piece,
ascertaining whether the part is correctly mounted (this step may be deleted),
fixing the mounted part to the work piece, and
ascertaining whether the part is fixed correctly and securely on the work piece (this step may be deleted).
If the machine as above described is required to mount various kinds of parts in one operation cycle, it is necessary for the machine to have multiple removal devices, gripping devices, adjusting devices, mounting devices and fixing devices whose designs are changed in accordance with the shapes of the parts, and one main controller to control these devices.
In conventional parts mounting machines, it is difficult to exchange any one of the containers of parts, the removal devices, the gripping devices, the adjusting devices, the mounting devices, the fixing devices and a work-piece positioning device for the other one while still maintaining correct positional and operational-timing relations among them. Therefore, conventional parts mounting machines include problems as follows:
(1) When any one of the kinds of parts is exchanged for the other kind thereof, or a total number of the kinds of parts is increased, it is necessary to stop the operation of the parts mounting machine for a long time to remodel the machine.
(2) In order to prevent a number of the parts mounting machines from being remodeled to vary the kinds of parts mounted thereby, or in order to continue operating the parts mounting machines for a long term without remodeling thereof, it is necessary to make a long-term and detailed plan for managing the parts mounting machines. When the managing plan is disturbed once, it is difficult to reconstruct the managing plan to obtain the predetermined production.